Across The Ages
by LastEdge
Summary: AU where the Nighthowler plot never happened. Instead Judy found something much more mysterious. Ghosts? Time travel? Love? Who knows (I do). [T] for now. This is another thing distracting me from Broken Clockwork. Feels odd to actually finish something :P
1. Chapter 1

**I am trying to finish the next chapter of Broken Clockwork, really I am, but different ideas just keep popping into my head**

 **So this is an AU where there never was any Nighthowler plot, instead Judy finds something much more mysterious**

 **Probably going to be shorter chapters than Broken Clockwork**

It had taken her 24 years of living and growing, the culmination of her entire life's work and dreams, but Judy Hopps had done it. She had graduated the police academy as valedictorian of her class and had been assigned to Precinct 1 in the heart of Zootopia. Her parents had been so emotional seeing her off, she managed to calm them down by agreeing to take some fox repellent. And then she was off to the big city.

It was everything she wanted it to be and more, from the glorious sights of Zootopia's different districts, to the thousands of different mammals all living together, and even to her pokey little apartment.

There was only one problem.

Her boss, Chief Bogo, was nowhere near as happy to have Judy as Judy was to be there. He made that abundantly clear from her very first day. Not even being valedictorian of her class was enough to persuade the cape buffalo that a bunny had any place on his force. Nope, she got parking duty.

Her parents were thrilled, being a meter maid was lovely and safe, but this didn't make Judy feel any better.

One week.

Another week.

Nothing but parking duty.

Judy was starting to go insane. She had not spent all this time and effort to write parking tickets for the rest of her life. So Judy, whose only desire was to prove that she could do the same things as all the other officers, did something she had sworn never to do.

She used the cute.

Probably due to the lack of bunnies in Zootopia, and definitely due to the lack of small cuddly animals on the force, but Chief Bogo had no resistance to this the most terrifying of rabbit abilities. Even then he was still the Chief of Police, it had taken him three days before he cracked.

Struggling to find something to get the adorable rabbit out of his hair for a while Chief Bogo had tossed her a case no one had wanted. Judy had leapt at the chance, it had to be better than parking duty.

On the outskirts of Savanna Central, near the border with Sahara Square, was a rather rundown neighbourhood. Some of the residents had reported lights and figures moving around in one of the abandoned buildings. The locals said it was haunted but it was probably just squatters, or some kids messing around.

None of the officers wanted to deal with it, it was very out of the way and all the disturbances occurred at night. But none of that mattered to Judy because this was her first proper case.

Which is how she found herself parked outside an abandoned building just after sunset. Judy had never been afraid of the dark, her sensitive hearing more than made up for her lack of night vision. She jumped down from her car, locked it, and set off. Judy had a flashlight in her left paw and her tranquiliser pistol in her right, just in case.

Shining a light beside the entrance way revealed a mouldering sign that could just about be made out to read 'Cyprus Grove Apartments'. Judy pushed open the door and stepped inside. It was pretty much as she had expected. Damp, dust, dirt, it looked like the place had been deserted for over a decade.

Deciding on a course of action, because you should always have a plan, Judy began to sweep the building from bottom to top, one floor at a time.

It was a bit creepy, even Judy had to admit, walking through the empty halls. There was a light breeze outside which only added to the atmosphere. Occasionally something would slam or thud, a shutter blown in the wind, and Judy would pause perfectly still each time.

The ground floor was empty, the first floor was empty too, and she found nothing on the second floor either. As she was heading back to the stairs though she paused again. This didn't sound like any of the previous noises. It was too ordered, in fact, it sounded more like… footsteps. From above her.

Judy tightened her grip on her pistol, it was probably someone harmless but there was always a chance it could be a gang, or drug addicts, or anything really. Judy actually started to perk up at the thought of something exciting happening.

Judy crept up the stairs and peeked out onto the third floor. She couldn't see much and she'd turned her torch off for the moment so as not to give herself away. Her hearing hadn't deserted her though, the footsteps definitely came from the opposite end of the hallway.

Judy cautiously advanced down the hall coming closer and closer to where she could hear someone's presence. It was the last apartment on the left and the door had long since fallen off its hinges.

Flashlight and pistol at the ready Judy stepped inside. It was quite a small apartment, unless you were Judy, compared to where she stayed the place was palatial. Bathroom, living room, kitchenette, all things her accommodation distinctly lacked. Directly ahead was a doorway, presumably to the bedroom, it was from there that Judy could hear movement.

A faint light could be just about made out shining under the bedroom door. It grew slightly brighter as Judy heard the footsteps getting closer. And then someone walked through the door.

Judy blinked slowly.

Someone walked _through_ the door.

Shining like pale moonlight, slightly transparent, Judy could see the wall through him, a fox clad in silver fur rather than red stepped into view.

Judy could feel her heart thumping hard and slow, feel her breathing speeding up, feel the blood pumping in her ears. Her torch and pistol were forgotten as Judy slowly backed away. The ghostly fox was also moving backwards as if mirroring her.

Thump.

Judy had moved around too much in the room, when she hoped to back all the way out of the door and escape, instead she bumped into the back wall of the living room.

This sudden shock served as a catalyst for all her reactions that had been suppressed in fear.

"A GHOST!"

"A GHOST!"

Two voices echoed around the derelict flat. Judy noticed that the ghost had also flung himself as much against the wall as possible.

 _Why haven't they just gone through it_ she thought curiously as she suddenly realised that the whole situation was more odd than scary.

"What do you mean ghost" said the fox indignantly "You're the ghost, you're all silver and see through"

Judy frowned and glanced down at herself, definitely still a flesh and blood bunny.

"Last time I checked I hadn't died yet" said Judy slowly, her pistol felt comforting even if she didn't think it would help much "and I can read the poster on the wall through your chest"

It was the fox's turn to frown now as he tapped the side of his head.

"Nope, still solid" he said watching Judy warily "what are you doing in my apartment?"

"You live here!?" asked Judy incredulously looking around "Well, I suppose an abandoned building is pretty suitable for a ghost"

"Abandoned? What are you talking about, this may not be the best place to stay but all the rooms are full"

Judy glanced around at the room, there was a threadbare sofa and everything was covered in a lot of dust. Looking back to see the fox just as confused as she was, Judy decided that some introductions may help her understand what was happening.

"I'm Judy Hopps, 24 years old, ZPD. I was sent to investigate this abandoned building because figures had been seen moving around in it."

The fox looked at her quizzically with his head tilted.

"I'm Nick Wilde, 19 years old, a sly and shifty fox" he said with a smirk "I didn't know they let rabbits join the police"

"Well Nick, I'm the first, now you say that your building is full of mammals?"

"Well yeah, I can hear my neighbours from here, pair of chatty capybaras"

Judy frowned again, this was all very confusing, and she wanted to sit down. She walked over to the sofa and collapsed on the least dusty part she could see. It still threw a cloud of dust into the air which she tried to waft away as she coughed. Cautiously Nick approached and sat down on the very edge of the other end of the couch.

"Why were you coughing?" he asked.

"Because of all the dust duh"

"Hey, I keep this place clean, tidy maybe not but certainly clean"

"That's the problem Nick, this building is empty, has been for years, the whole place is in a right state"

Nick seemed to be relaxing a little bit as they talked and leant back properly on the couch. He wondered just what on earth was happening.

"Well let's see" he said slowly "we each look like a ghost to the other but we don't go through things, I mean you haven't fallen through the couch"

"Not true, you walked through the bedroom door when you first appeared"

"No, I opened the door and walked through" said Nick looking at her strangely "watch"

He hopped of the sofa and went back to the door, he made the motion of opening and closing it a few times but nothing happened as far as Judy could see.

"Door's not moving Slick" said Judy getting up to join him "let me try"

This time Judy opened and closed the bedroom door but Nick just watched blankly.

"No, you're not moving this door either" he frowned suddenly "hold out your paw"

Judy cautiously put her pistol away and held out her hand. Nick reached out as well but his own paw slid through Judy's when they touched. It was very strange, no sensation whatsoever, like nothing was actually happening.

"Well that's odd" said Judy slowly watching another paw appearing through the back of her own "kinda creepy too"

"My building is lived in, but yours is abandoned" said Nick almost to himself before his ears perked up "Judy… what's the date?"

"3rd of April 2016" said Judy starting to get what he was thinking "why?"

"I'd say the date was 3rd of April… 2003"

"So you are what? 13 years in the past?" this seemed impossible but at the same time she was talking to a ghost.

"And you my cute little policewoman would seem to be 13 years in the future"

Judy slapped him. It was on reflex to being called cute, she'd had enough of it over the last few weeks, but her paw just passed straight through Nick's muzzle. Didn't do anything but he certainly flinched hard enough.

"You can't just go calling a rabbit cute" said Judy scowling at him.

Nick looked at her in slight shock from what just happened. Slowly though that smirk reappeared which unsettled Judy for some reason.

"But you are cute" said Nick smugly "Cutest cop I've ever seen"

Judy went to punch him in the arm but that just passed through him as well. Seeing this her scowl deepened and she turned to leave.

"Wait, Carrots" called Nick his face falling "don't go, I won't call you the c-word again"

"Carrots?" she asked turning back to look at him doubtfully.

"It's better than the c-word isn't it?" said Nick shrugging his shoulders "come on, stick around, you have to admit this is pretty cool"

Judy sighed and grudgingly agreed that what was going on was certainly pretty interesting. They relocated back to the sofa again.

"So, you're the first bunny cop?" asked Nick "what's that been like?"

"Not what I thought it would" said Judy slowly "I spent years training, I passed the same academy as anyone else and yet…"

"Your boss doesn't want a bunny around so you got stuck with the most boring of duties. But your parents back in… Podunck… or wherever, are probably very happy about your situation and you're just ploughing through anyway because you don't want to go home and be a carrot farmer?"

"It's Bunnyburrow" said Judy in amazement "how did you?"

"I've seen mammals new to Zootopia before" said Nick leaning on his hand "and I can guess what the police are like, and since you are rabbit it's likely that you were from the country"

"Wow Slick, you know, you'd make a pretty good cop with deduction like that" Judy noticed the young fox twitch slightly and look away "What do you do Nick?"

"I… uh… well" he took a deep breath "well at least you can't do anything to me… I'm a con artist"

Judy's eye's widened.

"Yeah, sly fox and all that, I buy jumbo-pops, melt them down and make pawpsicles which I then sell on for great profit"

Judy's first reaction was outrage, this was clearly illegal at worst and extremely shady at best. But the look on the fox's face as he spoke stopped the words in her throat.

"Do you want to be doing that?" she asked quietly.

Nick froze, he suddenly realised that because, other than being able to see her, it was like being at home alone, he hadn't put on the mask he normally met the world with. For a moment he felt a burst of fear at someone seeing the real him, but it passed, now that he thought about it, maybe it would be good to have someone to talk to properly, even if they were from the future.

"No" he whispered "but if all the world is going to see is a sly fox, then what's the point in being anything different" and then that smirk was back on his face "and besides I make like 200 dollars a day"

The smirk faltered slightly as Judy just stared at him. She had been brought up exactly like Nick said, seeing foxes as shifty and untrustworthy. But at Nick's words she suddenly wondered if that was ever right, or if it was as he said, and the world made them that way. The fox repellent which was sat on the dash of her car outside felt like it was burning a hole in her chest in shame.

"Earth to Carrots" said Nick waving a hand at her.

Judy shook and jerked back in surprise, Nick saw her reaction and pulled his hand back quickly. Judy could see the pain on his face and reached a paw out towards him. Seeing that, Nick gingerly held his paw so that it was almost touching Judy.

"Are you afraid of me?" he asked quietly.

"A little" said Judy, a flash of fear, sadness, and resignment appeared on Nick's face "but not because you're a fox. It's because you look like a literal ghost sat next to me"

"Really?" he asked hopefully, this cop from the future was surprising him again and again.

"I guess it's probably because my body thinks I'm alone but that's fine, I'm glad you aren't scary"

There was silence in the dark room for a few moments.

"What are you going to do? About your work I mean, you had to investigate this place" asked Nick curiously.

"Somehow I don't think reporting that I managed to talk to a fox from 13 years in the past would be a good idea. I'll just say that there was evidence of recent activity but nothing while I was actually here"

"Oh, the great Carrots, first bunny cop and already falling to the corruption of the big city and lying to her superiors" snickered Nick.

Judy tucked her knees up to her chest as her ears drooped. Nick winced, he'd gone a bit far with that one.

"Carrots I'm-"

"It's fine, I'm not really much of a cop at the moment anyway" Judy shook her head and moved to get up and leave, no matter how fantastical the situation was she just wanted to go home now "I should probably go, early morning tomorrow"

"Wait, Judy" the bunny paused before she left the room "You're stronger than me" said Nick slowly, he was never very good at opening up to people "I just let myself be what the world thought of me… but you didn't, hell, a rabbit cop still sounds impossible to me but there you are"

Nick watched as Judy gave him a small smile over her shoulder before the ghostly rabbit walked out _through_ his door. He glanced around his apartment, imagining what it would look like 13 years in the future as a derelict relic.

"I guess I'll have to move out at some point then" he said to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two, what will happen? what is going on? what does 19 year old Nick look like?**

 **The answers to these questions and more are found below... maybe**

Judy had completed her first case. Her performance was text book and her report exemplary. Grudgingly Chief Bogo had to admit that he could find no faults whatsoever in her conduct as much as he would like to. But that was about all the waves Judy's work made. And she was back on parking duty again.

It was three days later and her enthusiasm, that had been boosted from actual police work, had dropped back to normal levels and would likely continue to drop if she was stuck doing parking duty again.

Judy was flopped on the tiny bed in her room, trying not to think of anything, which was very difficult given the constant shouting and arguing of her neighbours. As she lay there listening Judy realised that she was very alone. She had nearly three hundred siblings back home in Bunnyburrow, a rabbit was never lonely for long. Judy had barely gotten to know her colleagues yet, let alone any mammals outside her profession.

She just wanted someone to talk to.

Her mind started to drift back to the surreal encounter she had had those few days earlier. Part of her wondered if it was in fact all a dream or hallucination. I mean, meeting a ghostly fox from 13 years in the past? Like that could happen.

Judy often found her thoughts slipping back to Nick. He was a fox and, to the world, was exactly how a fox was expected to be. But Judy had seen underneath all that when she was with him. It made her rethink a lot of things she had been taught back in Bunnyburrow.

In fact, her fox repellent was still lying at the side of the road where she had thrown it before she drove off from 'Cyprus Grove Apartments'

 _Did I really just imagine all of it_ she thought to herself _I somehow doubt that I could imagine a fox like Nick._

It was late evening though the sun hadn't set yet. Judy had had enough, so far she had found one person she could talk to, and she didn't even know if he actually existed.

 _Only one way to find out_

Before she could think about how foolish an idea this was, Judy found herself in her car driving out to 'Cyprus Grove Apartments'. She parked more out of the way this time, rather than in front of the main entrance, since she wasn't on duty now. She still had her flashlight though.

The building looked exactly the same, not like suddenly someone was going to clean the place up but still. It didn't seem that creepy anymore either, it all felt quite familiar as Judy skipped up to the third floor.

She felt anxious and nervous as she approached Nick's apartment. What if she was wrong and it was all a dream? What if it wasn't? She took a deep breath as she turned the corner and stepped inside.

The room was empty.

Judy closed her eyes and listened closely, she hadn't thought to use her sensitive ears before, she'd been too on edge. There was silence.

Feeling disappointed Judy poked around the apartment a few times, checking the different rooms and called out for Nick. But there wasn't anything there. It would seem that Judy Hopps was going mad. Her ears drooped, was work really getting to her that much?

With a deep sigh Judy turned to go just in time for her vision to fill with silver briefly.

"Argh, whoa, whoa, whoa… phew" came a frantic voice behind her as Judy's eyes widened "Geeze, don't do that to me Carrots"

Turning, Judy saw Nick had just about managed to rescue the box of pizza he had been carrying when they had walked through each other. She couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Hey Nick" she said feeling very relieved "looks like this was all true"

"Aw, did you think you imagined me? You have good taste" smirked the ghostly looking fox as he hopped over the back of the sofa.

"Well, part of me did wonder if parking duty had sent me insane" said Judy moving to join him.

"More parking duty huh" said Nick starting to eat his pizza "So what can I do for you? I'd offer you food but one I don't think that's possible and two I don't think you'd want anchovy and cricket pizza"

"I wanted to see if I was going mad for a start" said Judy leaning back "and I'm glad I'm not. I… I guess I just wanted to talk to someone"

"And I was your first choice? I'm flattered Carrots"

"Not like I have anyone else" said Judy pulling her feet up next to her "not been around long enough to make any friends other than a fox from 13 years in the past"

"Friends huh" said Nick pausing as he held a slice of pizza.

Judy caught the expression on his face and frowned.

"Oh come on, a smooth fox like you must have tons of friends" said Judy jokingly.

Nick jerked his head to look at her in shock. Once again he'd let his guard down around the Judy because she had no presence.

"Actually" said Nick with a sigh "not really, my business associate Finnick is about the closest, he's a fennec fox. I guess we foxes just keep to ourselves"

"Well, there's me" said Judy smiling.

"Yeah?" said Nick glancing at her out of the corner of his eye "Yeah, that'd be… nice"

Nick put down his pizza and swivelled on the sofa so he was sat facing Judy with his legs crossed.

"Alright Carrots" he said tilting his head while watching her intently "something's bothering you, what's up?"

Judy's ear twitched before they began to droop. Nick hadn't known the bunny for that long but he could tell that was a bad sign.

"I… I guess I'm just a little uncomfortable here in the city" said Judy slowly "it's different from home, wonderfully different but…"

"You're lonely?"

Judy raised her head to stare at Nick in surprise.

"How did-"

"I read people Carrots" said Nick smiling sadly "it's what I do for a living pretty much, and I've seen loneliness before"

"You would make a really good cop you know that" said Judy chuckling.

"How dare you" said Nick in mock offense.

"Yeah" Judy's face fell again "when you have a family as big as mine, being isolated in the city is… grating"

"Country bunnies huh" said Nick scratching under his muzzle "you got, what, 30 brothers and sisters out there or something crazy like that?"

"Off by a factor of ten, nearly 300 siblings" Nick dropped the slice of pizza he had reached for as he stared at Judy, his jaw slack "well, 275 anyway"

"Two- two- two hundred… and seventy-five?!"

"Yep" said Judy smugly watching Nick's expression "and that's just my brothers and sisters, then there's aunts, uncles, not to mention my older siblings that have already started families of their own, it kind of just goes on"

"Yeah, I can see why you're lonely" said Nick in a daze "That sounds… horrifying"

"What about foxes then?" asked Judy curiously.

"We are a lot more cautious getting close to people and our litters are much smaller, I mean look at me, I was an only child. Not sure what happened to my dad, I have no memories of him and I _still_ haven't managed to get mum to tell me the story. So my family is me and my mother, I vaguely know an uncle but that's about it"

He looked up in time to see Judy fall straight through his body. Her head popped back up out of his chest which was rather... disturbing.

"Sorry" said Judy moving back down the couch "that just sounded so sad to me as a rabbit that I just felt like I should give you a hug"

"You bunnies, so emotional" said Nick closing his eyes as he sat back "It's fine, that's just how foxes are, I'm more worried about you, stuck out in Zootopia on your lonesome"

"Nah, it's okay now" said Judy smiling "I've got you to talk to"

Nick started, this bunny of all things had a knack of hitting him right in his weak spots. He hadn't just relaxed around another mammal in years, not even Finnick, if he showed even a single chink in his armour then everything would come crashing down around him. And yet there was something about Judy that made Nick feel fine with just being himself. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he could see through her. Literally.

Judy was feeling a lot better now. Despite being sat by herself in an abandoned building this was the happiest she had been in quite a while. Not even the fact Nick was a fox could change that. Judy was actually glad that they had met like this. If not for this extra barrier between them, then she may not have seen the real Nick.

"Yeah, well, you're welcome round anytime" said Nick looking away and scratching his head.

Next to him Judy stifled a yawn, she'd finally run out of all the energy that had gotten her this far.

"You should leave" said Nick before holding his paws in the air when he saw the reproach on Judy's face "not because I want you to go or anything, it's just you look really tired and I don't think this place would be good for you to sleep in"

Judy relaxed and smiled, Nick was right, she should go. She still had one more day of parking duty till the weekend. She stood up and stretched while glancing down at the silver fox on the sofa.

"I'll see you round Slick" said Judy with grin and then she was gone.

Nick sat there in silent contemplation for a few minutes before a genuine smile lit up his face.

"Yeah, see you soon Carrots"

* * *

Judy visited again the next day, she had finished work very late and brought a take away with her. But despite how low she was feeling, Nick cheered her up almost immediately, she didn't know how he did it. He brought his own food and it was almost like they were eating together. His terrible jokes seemed perfect to Judy who was in such dire need of a laugh. They just talked, about little things to do with where they lived. With Nick's explanations, all the empty rooms Judy saw seemed to come to life in her imagination.

The next day was the weekend and Judy returned to the abandoned building. She had to be more careful in hiding her car and transporting the materials but she managed it. She spent the day cleaning up Nick's apartment, airing it out and dealing with the dust. By the time Nick turned up, no doubt from another day of hustling, Judy had done a pretty bang up job making the place liveable. The day after that she brought in a supply of food and snacks, bottles of water, a portable lamp and a camping stove. There wasn't really any difference now from visiting a friend's house.

On Monday Judy was called into Bogo's office. Apparently they were getting more reports about the abandoned building Judy had scouted before, vehicles spotted this time. The chief had a slight grin on his face when he told Judy that she would be on stakeout at the building for the next week to sort this out once and for all. Judy simply accepted the case politely and left the office. It was only when she was out of the precinct that she allowed the big smile she had been holding in, loose.

Stakeout! Something other than parking duty! And she was on the lookout for… herself? Judy had a pretty good idea that the vehicles spotted were her car when she had been back over the past few days. Still, that didn't mean that nobody else would turn up.

 _So it's still a job that needs doing_ she thought to herself with a spring in her step _it's just that I'll be doing the stakeout at Nick's_

* * *

Judy and Nick grew closer as the days passed, the odd distance between their existences actually allowed them to open up to the other. They found themselves swapping stories that they wouldn't normally tell anyone else.

Nick told Judy about his experience with the Junior Ranger Scouts, the muzzle, the fear and the confusion. About how that was the moment he knew the world would only ever see him as a fox, not as Nick Wilde. Nick felt a bit embarrassed when Judy started crying at his tale though at the same time he felt a little warm inside that she cared.

In return Judy opened up about the three scars on the side of her face. About Gideon Grey being a bully and clawing her when she tried to defend her friends. For a moment Nick felt an irrational urge to go and find this fox and beat the crap out of him for touching Judy. At the same time he began to appreciate the fact that she wasn't afraid of him even more.

It was a few days later, nearly coming up to the end of the stakeout and Judy was sat on the sofa writing up her report so far. Nothing had happened during the week, she was the only mammal who visited the building, which meant that she just got to spend all her time with Nick. The fox had been trying to tempt her into spicing up her report with a mafia shoot out but she wasn't having any of it. It made her chuckle though and that had been Nick's objective all along.

She was sat on the sofa, writing away, when her ear twitched. There was movement on the stairs, someone was here. Judy put her notebook down and reached for the portable lamp. Now sat in the dark she waited for whoever she could hear to arrive. There were several of them and they were exploring the third floor, soon they would stumble upon Nick's apartment.

Judy picked up her tranquiliser pistol and hid it by her side, only the top of her head was visible above the back of the sofa. Eventually a flickering light appeared out in the hall. Shadows lengthened against the wall before finally the group of mammals appeared in view.

It was a group of wolves, male and female, they looked about the same age as Nick.

 _Probably just out on a test of courage or something_ thought Judy as she stared at them.

One of the torches they had moved over the sofa and revealed Judy. Some of the girls screamed as the whole group moved back. Judy tried her best not to laugh when this nearly caused the teenagers to start a howl. When Judy didn't do anything they crept closer and shone the lights on her again.

"Hey, it's just a rabbit" said one of the wolves like he knew all along "What are you doing here bunny?"

Judy raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the back of the apartment, Nick had gone to change after he got home.

"Nick" shouted Judy "You have visitors"

"My end or your end" came the muffled reply as the wolves looked at each other confused.

"My end of course" said Judy exasperatedly "how would I know what goes on on your side?"

There was silence for a few moments along with some thuds and rustles from the bedroom. The wolves were about to say something again when they froze, a vicious snarl came from the door on the far side of the room.

In a flash of silver light, Nick came flying through the door, fangs and clawed bared. And he really was flying several feet off the floor. The wolves took in the semi-transparent, growling, clawing fox flying towards them and, as one, took off screaming for their lives. Which meant that they missed seeing Nick collide with what Judy assumed was his front door and tumble to the floor, to her he just hit the empty space of the doorway and collapsed.

Judy burst out laughing, she couldn't help it, Nick looked so… adorable lying on the ground like that. She skipped over and knelt beside him as he glanced up at her.

"Nothing?" he asked.

"Not a jot" replied Judy smiling.

Nick had spent a lot effort in using his ghostly presence to try and scare Judy. It had never worked, she was just too used to him by now, he couldn't scare if he tried. Which he did, a lot.

"How'd you manage the floating?" Judy asked curiously as Nick clambered to his feet.

"Ah, I'm quite proud of that, it's a tea trolley that I found out back of the apartment block" Nick paused to pick up something Judy couldn't see "I've been waiting for an opportunity like that for ages" the two of them settled back on the sofa as Nick explained "I've noticed over time that there's a limit to what you can see from my side of things. You can see me, and things that I wear or hold, but you can't see any of the rest of the room"

Judy nodded along in agreement, what Nick said was right, she just hadn't noticed it. Then she thought back to him colliding with the door again and burst out laughing. Nick smirked slightly as he watched her. Not for the first time, he wished that he could reach out and touch Judy.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'd like to give a big shoutout to Uranium235 for getting in touch and giving me so new ideas**

 **Bit of a rollercoaster this one so hold on tight**

Chief Bogo had been happy with Judy's report when her week long stakeout was over. He released a statement to the neighbourhood that after an extended period of investigation the only people found were a group of teenagers. Since the police did not have the numbers to dispatch someone every time this happened the locals were warned only to report this if anything more untoward such as gunshots were heard.

Chief Bogo was grudgingly beginning to accept the rabbit on his force. Everything she did was to the book. Not to mention that she still appeared every day with the same amount of determination even though she knew she would get parking duty. He knew a lot of his other officers would have thrown in the towel by now if they had to do Judy's job.

This still didn't stop him putting her back on parking duty again. Judy, however, found that she didn't mind that anymore. Because every day after work she would travel out to the 'Cyprus Grove Apartments' to see Nick.

* * *

It was later that week when they got into a fight. Nick had been very restless all evening and had eventually asked Judy a favour. He had asked for some hints from the future that he could use to gamble with.

Judy had been furious with him, that he'd try something so stupid, she was a cop for heaven's sake. The only thing that had kept her from storming out of the building and not coming back for a long time was the look on Nick's face when he had asked.

Nick had long since removed all the walls around him when he was with Judy. That was why Judy could see the turmoil in his eyes.

"Talk, Nick" said Judy, her voice filled with steel, they were now sat opposite each other on the couch.

She could see emotions running across Nick's face like he no longer had control over what she saw.

"I'm sorry Judy" said Nick with a deep breath "I- it was- I just want you to know it wasn't for me"

"Keep going" said Judy without changing her expression, inside though she could feel her resolve beginning to melt.

"Where to start" said Nick as he wiped a paw down his face "you know that my family is just me and my mother" Judy nodded "mom, she always had a weak body, it was the reason why I was her only kit. A year or so back mom grew sick. It was pretty bad and she probably wouldn't be around right now if not for the money I've been making hustling. A- a few weeks ago she had some sort of relapse, she'll be okay for a while but if she can't get another set of treatment then… I- I've been looking for ways to make some extra cash to pay for it but…" tears like liquid mercury began to roll down his face "but I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you. I- I know I'm not a very good person, but please don't leave… I'm scared…"

Judy felt like there was a knife stabbed through her heart as she watched Nick like this. Nick didn't cry, even with how open they both were Judy had never seen him like this, and it hurt to see it. He had been going through all this and she hadn't known anything about it. She suddenly remembered that he was only 19.

Judy reached out with her paws and carefully held them in such a way that it looked like she was holding Nick's muzzle.

"I'm not going anywhere Nick" she said softly "you are a much nicer, kinder mammal that you give yourself credit for. I'm sorry I shouted before and I'm glad that you told me"

The look of relief, of hope, of gratitude in Nick's eyes as he looked at Judy silently was enough to melt her aching heart. Not for the first time, she wished she could reach out and touch him.

* * *

It was the weekend and deep into the night. Judy was trying to sleep on the sofa. They had brought some booze since they didn't need to get up in the morning. Nick hadn't really thought this through, Judy couldn't drive home now, and he had been rather worried. Judy had had to reassure him that she had prepared enough blankets just in case. He'd tried to offer her the bed but she had shot that idea down since it was his apartment.

And now it was far too late and she couldn't sleep. The couch wasn't uncomfortable, she'd made sure of that, and she wasn't cold with all the blankets. No it was something that she thought she had dealt with. She felt lonely. At home, with 275 siblings most of which were younger than her, it was not uncommon to sleep in groups or gain a small furry partner during the night if they had bad dreams.

Judy hadn't had this issue the entire time she had been in Zootopia, she'd leant to cope while at the police academy. But now that she knew Nick was nearby, she was feeling the sense of companionship that she missed from home, and she couldn't sleep.

Ideas tossed and turned around in her head and eventually she gave up or she was going to get a migraine. Judy rolled off the sofa and dragged her blankets with her in the direction of Nick's room. Thankful that her interacting with the furniture in her time wouldn't disturb him, Judy opened the door and walked inside.

She had put new bedding over the mattress, mostly because Judy never did anything by halves, especially when it came to cleaning. She was quite glad for that now. She hopped up onto the bed next to Nick and then pulled her blankets up after her.

Judy lay down and just watched the ghostly silver fox sleeping in front of her for a while. His mouth was open with his tongue hanging out, his teeth on full display. At one point this would probably have scared Judy but not anymore, now it was just part of Nick. Not even taking the fact they couldn't interact into account she wouldn't be afraid of him. His youthfulness shone through in his sleep, even while around Judy with his walls and guard down, Judy often forgot that he was several years younger than her. She knew that this was how Nick survived in the world outside his apartment.

She couldn't smell him, nor feel his weight on the bed next to her, nor see him if she closed her eyes to sleep. But Judy could hear him breathing softly and just knowing he was there was enough to help her drift off to sleep.

* * *

Nick woke up to a soft silver light, it did not hurt his eyes like the morning sun but it took him a moment to adjust. Lying opposite him on the bed was an angel. Giving off light like quicksilver, Judy's sleeping form appeared more beautiful than anything Nick had ever seen before. One of her ears was flopped over her cheek and Nick found the whole sight to be breath taking. And cute.

He was surprised he had woken before her, from what he knew Judy was definitely an early bird, but the alcohol and the time it took her to finally get to sleep had taken a toll. Nick didn't want to disturb her, even though he knew only sound could to that, and just lay there quietly watching her. Her nose would twitch every so often as she dreamed and Nick just wanted to take in every last detail in case it was the last time he ever saw her.

This was a fact that Nick had been struggling with for some time now. He had no idea what kind of witchcraft was making all this possible but it could stop at any point. Any moment could be the last time he ever saw Judy again.

And he didn't want that. They had been together for barely three weeks now and yet Judy had become an integral part of Nick's life. Her laughter, her enthusiasm, her passion and drive, the poor, young fox had fallen head over heels for any one of these or the countless other things he had learnt about Judy in their time together.

Nick normally kept the world at bay, especially vixens, foxes are very serious when it comes to falling in love. So Nick was in far over his head in this situation.

Almost as if sensing his confusion Judy stirred and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a fox barely a foot from her head. Normally this would have been enough to give a rabbit a heart attack however now a little part of Judy wished she could wake up like that every day.

Seeing Judy was awake Nick looked away embarrassedly and moved to get up. It was a good thing that he was a red fox and that he appeared all silver and ghostly to Judy or she would definitely have noticed the blush covering his whole face.

"Morning Slick" yawned Judy as she sat up as well "I hope you don't mind, I needed some company to get to sleep, bunny thing"

She just about made out a mumbled "I don't mind at all" as Nick hurried out to find himself some coffee. Judy slowly followed after and stood by the bedroom door watching Nick in the kitchenette. She smiled as she saw him darting around the cupboards, his natural smirk finding its way onto his face that made Judy's heart beat faster.

Judy walked to the living room and grabbed one of the bottles of water from her stash. She curled up on the sofa as Nick finished making his coffee. He joined her and there was silence for a while, happy with their company and occasionally sneaking glances at the other.

Not for the first time, not knowing their thoughts aligned, they wished they could reach out touch the other.

* * *

A few days after that and Nick noticed that Judy was acting rather odd. She was a bit strained when talking to him, finding it hard to relax. She put it down to work whenever he asked her about it but Nick didn't believe that was the cause.

And then Judy didn't turn up.

Nick spent the entire evening waiting, watching the clock, hoping that a wonderful ghostly rabbit would bound through his door at any moment. But she didn't. Nor did she appear the next day. Nick knew she had been acting strangely, perhaps she just needed a bit of time alone.

But the days passed and Judy never visited. Nick had to try and remember what exactly it was that he used to fill his evenings with. Not that it mattered because no matter what he did his apartment just felt… empty.

He could have gone out to keep himself entertained but then what if Judy came back. And found an empty apartment. Nick couldn't risk that so he stayed in and tried to keep himself distracted from a terrible thought.

As the days kept turning, and it was approaching a week since he last saw the bunny he'd fallen in love with, Nick had to face the horrible truth. Those dark little thoughts that had been eating away at him for weeks, that everything was hanging on a knife edge, seemed to be true. Whatever had let him meet the girl of his dreams had stopped. He spent the entire day sat on the sofa when he came to this realisation.

Finnick called to see what was wrong but Nick didn't want to see anyone at this point. He'd known this would happen. He'd known that it was foolish, stupid, _dangerous_ for him to fall for Judy… but what could he do about that. She had turned up in his life and broken open his shell from the very first day, revealing the real Nick.

And then, a week after Judy disappeared, there was light. Gorgeous, soft silvery light shone from behind him as he stood in the kitchenette. Nick's heart lurched, his breath catching as he slowly turned to face that heavenly light.

There she was, stood in the middle of the room, watching him silently. Nick slowly walked towards Judy without even noticing. He fell to his knees before her so they were closer in height and very carefully wrapped his arms around her. He couldn't feel anything when he did and he choked down a sob at the pain this caused him.

Judy watched as Nick noticed her and turned around. Her heart clenched at the sight of him, his fur was matted, his eyes raw. And his eyes. As he saw her, Judy saw so many emotions running through his eyes and she felt like she'd been stabbed with needles because she knew that they were all because of her.

Nick slowly let Judy go and sat back on his knees to look at her. His gaze was so soft and gentle yet to the bunny it felt like razor blades in her heart.

"I shouldn't have come" moaned Judy bursting into tears, trying desperately to hold onto Nick and failing.

"Judy, what's wrong?" asked Nick panicking.

"I'm wrong, you're wrong, we're wrong, this whole thing is wrong!" sobbed Judy, her words made Nick go cold inside "And we got too involved and then it hit me that this could all stop at any moment and I'd never see you again. So I tried to stay away and, and, and act like this never happened. But it hurt, it hurt so much, because, because I love you! I haven't even stopped to think about how you're a fox and I'm rabbit because I'm so scared you'll just disappear!"

The ice that had been growing in Nick's heart shattered as he stared at the silvery rabbit in wonder. Suddenly all the fear and confusion he had gone through this last week seemed worth it just to hear Judy say those words.

"Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought like that Carrots"

Judy looked up at Nick in shock, tears still running down her face.

"I've been worried all this might come to an end for a while now" said the fox smiling at her sadly "I figured I should just make the most of it. And then you disappeared for a week and I finally had to try and come to terms with the fact that the girl I loved wasn't coming back"

"I'm sorry Nick, I'm so sorry" cried Judy "I'm sorry I stayed away, I'm…" her eyes widened "you love me?"

"Of course I do, you dumb bunny" said Nick reaching out and cupping her cheek "it'd be hard _not_ to fall for someone like you"

Judy tried so hard to feel his paw on her face but there was nothing there. She wiped her tears, she was the older one but was in such a state.

 _Emotional bunnies huh_ she thought to herself.

They spent the rest of the evening just lying on the bed watching each other, committing every last detail to memory, their paws overlapping between them. Judy hadn't planned to break down and confess to Nick like that. She had, in fact come for a different reason, one she was still struggling with herself about. Nick on the other hand, over the course of the evening, had felt something forming in his heart. It was small for sure, but harder than steel, a resolve that he _was_ going to be with Judy no matter what.

Unfortunately Judy still had work the next day so she had to leave eventually. They didn't want to part but duty called. Right up to the door way Selfishness and Selflessness were still fighting a war inside Judy. But one side won out.

"Nick" she said quietly "I love you"

"I love you too Judy" said Nick looking down at her "what's wrong?"

Judy reached into her pocket and pulled out her notebook. She flicked to a certain page and simply held it out for Nick to see. He read it curiously as his eyes widened and he looked at Judy in confused concern.

The notebook held a list of sports matches and their results along with the dates. They were all dated in Nick's future.

"Judy… you can't… what if… what if something changes?" whispered Nick.

"I know" said Judy sadly "but I want you to be happy, and I want your mother to be well, and, and" she found herself starting to cry again "just copy them down before I change my mind"

Nick could see the pain in her eyes as she did this for him. He rushed across the room to grab some paper and a pen, he wouldn't let her feelings go to waste. There was silence apart from the scratching of a pen as Nick copied down the information about his future.

"Thank you, Judy" said Nick softly once he finished "you don't know what this means to me… but I, I don't want to lose you!"

"I know Nick, but this could all stop at any time, so I thought I could do something for you before that happened"

"I'll find you!" said Nick with a determination in his eyes that startled Judy a bit "you are out there somewhere, I'll find you again"

"You can't Nick" said Judy reaching out to place her paw on his chest "We'd never met before, you dumb fox. If you find me, then all of this wouldn't have happened I guess"

Judy's words frightened Nick right to his very core, she was right and he hadn't thought, and he had been the one worried about changing things with the betting.

They said farewell though neither wanted Judy to go. Nick sat in silence on the sofa, his mind ticking over with all the things that had happened since he met Judy, all the things he'd learnt about her and the future. His resolve was still there… he just needed to find a different angle.

* * *

Judy had a plan. She felt a little bad telling Nick that he couldn't try and find her but they really didn't understand enough about the odd phenomenon that let them meet. She, however, was the one in the future so it should be fine for her to do some investigating.

The next day she went to see Chief Bogo in his office first thing. His attitude towards the rabbit had warmed greatly since she had first arrived in his precinct, though that was just by the standards of the cape buffalo, he still seemed rough and intimidating. He was slightly surprised in fact when Judy requested a day working in the combined records located across the street in city hall. She claimed that she had not experienced enough about the different aspects of the precinct and this would help her improve as an officer.

It was a tenuous story, and Judy had been prepared to use the cute in order to change the Chief's mind, when he agreed. In fact, Chief Bogo was slowly reaching the point where he didn't feel comfortable simply sending Judy on parking duty every day.

A large portion of that was due to an incident that took place a few days prior. A major robbery had taken place and this resulted in a large pursuit. The criminals just so happened to run directly to where Judy had been doing her parking duty for the day. Officers Mchorn and Delgato had arrived on the scene just in time to see Judy singlehandedly take down two tigers and a rhino.

All this had filtered back to Bogo, and while he had reprimanded Judy for overstepping her bounds, his heart wasn't in it. He started to think that maybe there was a reason why this bunny had graduated valedictorian of her class.

Judy practically sprinted across the road to city hall. No one really questioned her presence in the records room. In fact, other than the sloth who seemed to run it, Judy didn't see another soul the whole time she was there. And Judy wasn't sure if the sloth had actually noticed her presence yet.

It took her a while, she wasn't going to risk asking the sloth for any help or she'd be there till next week, but eventually she worked out how the filing system worked. She headed for what she felt was a good place to start, the city census.

It took her nearly an hour because for some reason they didn't use alphabetical ordering but eventually Judy had read through the entirety of the most recent census. And she couldn't find Nick. Frowning Judy moved onto the census before that, she was getting the hang of things now so it didn't take as long. But she still couldn't find Nick.

This didn't fill Judy with confidence and for a moment she wasn't sure what to do. After thinking for a moment Judy snapped her fingers and began to search for the census from 2003. Surely Nick had to be in that one.

Judy hurried down the aisles of folders till she reached the right year. She was practically tearing through the files, so fast in fact that she very nearly missed Nick's. With jittery paws Judy pulled out Nick's file and opened it up.

Very quickly the joy drained from her face, her breath caught in her throat and her paws no longer seemed to have any strength. Nick's file fell to the floor where it lay half open.

 _Nicholas P. Wilde – Age 19 - DECEASED_


	4. Chapter 4

**Hoo boy, it's done, unless i maybe add some more at a later date, but done for now.**

 **Now i can finally get back to Broken Clockwork, unless another annoying idea pops into my head.**

 **Shoutout to Uranium235, I hope this chatpter satisfies :)**

 **Rate, Review, Talk to me, Let me know what you guys think**

* * *

Have you ever gone from one of the highest points in your entire life to the point that you know is the lowest you will ever reach? To suddenly feel like the entire world had broken, or maybe it was just you breaking instead? Like all the light was now gone and everything you knew was trapped in fear and pain and darkness? To find something you never knew you were missing only to have it destroyed in the most brutal of ways before you can do anything?

Judy knew all these things and more as she stared down in horror at the file lying so innocently on the floor. Those words written across the top of it continued to sear themselves into the back of Judy's eyes and she couldn't tear her gaze away despite the pain she was in.

 _Nicholas P. Wilde – Age 19 - DECEASED_

"No" she whispered as she slowly fell to her knees and reached out for the file "no, no, no, not my Nick…"

A young looking fox, a little world weary but with a charming smile, appeared in her mind. Judy couldn't stop the tears from falling as she forced her shaking paws to pick up the file from the floor. She didn't want to look, she knew something inside her would break if she did, but she couldn't help it. She needed to know.

 _Nicholas P. Wilde – Age 19 - DECEASED_

 _Father – Richard Wilde_

 _Mother – Miranda Wilde - DECEASED_

 _Reported dead at Cyprus Grove Apartments on 5_ _th_ _May 2003_

And that was it. Judy stared at the tiny amount of information in shock. Panicking slightly Judy picked up the next file along in the census. This was for a caribou and had several pages worth of writing inside it. Judy looked back at Nick's file, she could almost hear his voice in her head saying 'nobody cares about foxes Carrots'.

A tiny little part of Judy's mind kept going, didn't freeze up and surrender.

 _5_ _th_ _May 2003_ she thought sluggishly _today is the 5_ _th_ _… today is the 5_ _th_ _! It's today!_ She groaned angrily at the file _It doesn't say anything about why or how he dies!_

She took a few deep breaths as she tried to think of something, anything. Then, a little lightbulb flickered in her head.

 _Right, the apartment, surely there'd be records about that if someone died there_

Judy almost span on the spot as she wondered where to search next. She decided on news reports, which thankfully were only two aisles over from the census. These at least had been organised properly and Judy very quickly found the section for May 2003. It took her a few moments frantically flicking through the papers, every second weighing down upon her like lead, before she finally spotted the words 'Cyprus Grove'.

 _Mass Fatalities in Cyprus Grove_

 _On the 5_ _th_ _of May 2003, a terrible accident occurred at the Cyprus Grove Apartment complex. Due to what was later determined to be poor workmanship and cutting corners, a major gas pipe ruptured in multiple places throughout the complex. The management had not fitted suitable alarms that could detect the gas leading to a very delayed response. There were over a dozen confirmed fatalities. Cyprus Grove Apartments, and its parent company, suffered multiple lawsuits and, after a very short period of time, filed for bankruptcy. The building is currently planned for…_

The article carried on but Judy wasn't reading anymore. She thought back to everything Nick had ever said about where he lived. How it wasn't the best but it was cheap, somewhere those down on their luck could stay. She remembered him always complaining that there were things that needed fixing but nothing was ever done about them.

Shoddy building work... Her fox died because of shoddy building work!? More than anything now there was a fire building inside Judy, rage holding all the fear and pain at bay. Someone killed the love that had only just blossomed for her. She was going to have serious words with the old owners of Cyprus Grove Apartments… but first.

Judy glanced at her phone, **11:23** , it was still early enough, the article didn't give an exact time but that just meant there was still a chance. The fire in Judy's eyes simmered down without losing any of its intensity. She had to get to Nick's apartment as soon as possible.

Judy raced out of the records room, the files left abandoned on the floor behind her, no time to be tidy when every second counted. The sloth in charge was still slowly typing away just like how Judy had last seen them. They didn't even notice as the rabbit flew past them.

Stepping back out into the main auditorium of city hall Judy very nearly ran into someone much larger than her. She cursed and hurriedly ran around them as she headed for the exit.

"Hopps!" came a deep shout from behind her "Where are you going?"

Judy looked back over her shoulder to see Chief Bogo holding a few files and looking at her rather confused.

"Parking Duty!" snarled Judy with all the ferocity of a savage predator, her amethyst eyes burning.

Mondara Bogo was a tough animal. You had to be to become the Chief of Police. He had not really interacted with Judy that much, either she had been completely professional or adorably cute. This, however, was a side to Judy that the buffalo had not seen before. His mind drifted back to how she had apprehended two tigers and a rhino by herself a few days prior to this. He could see how now.

Chief Bogo had in fact come here to see Judy, the file he was holding was hers. He had finally come to terms with the fact that he had been wrong. Judy deserved to be on his force just as much as any of his other officers. He had come to talk to her about putting her on active duty from now on.

Slowly Chief Bogo pulled out a pen and opened Judy's file.

 _Note – put Officer Hopps on active duty starting tomorrow. Suggestion – Officer Wolford for partner or other of similar size._

After staring at what he had written for a few more moments, he wrote one last thing.

 _Note – DO NOT anger the bunny..._

* * *

Judy did not normally break the law, her sense of justice was an integral part of who she was, no matter how small the situation was. Now, however, there was a life on the line and everything else was put on hold.

She was currently driving far too quickly in the direction of Nick' apartment. Perhaps it was karma for how she had lived so far but every traffic light she came to was green.

There was too much whirling around in Judy's head. Fear, pain, confusion, hope, anger. Memories of her and Nick started to flash through her mind. Little moments that meant so much more to her now that there was a metaphorical guillotine hanging over her fox's head. She tried to push everything out of her head for now, she had to focus on driving to Nick as fast as possible. It didn't work, Nick's face with that soft and gentle look in his eyes appeared in Judy's mind, and tears began to roll down her cheeks again.

Every so often she would glance at the clock in her car and every time the seconds ticking by would feel like another spike driven into her heart. She could feel herself panicking, her heart rate rising and her breathing speeding up, but she held it off with raw willpower. She could feel a terrible headache coming on but she was almost there, she had to keep going.

The headache grew, like there was pressure pushing down on Judy from outside, and she bit her lip. The pain focussed her as she entered the neighbourhood where Cyprus Grove Apartments was. The pressure just seemed to grow as Judy slammed the car to a stop outside the building. She was here, she just had to get to Nick's room and warn him.

She groaned and grabbed her head, the pressure was still getting worse, it almost felt like the entire world was pressing down around her.

 _Nick_ she thought picturing the handsome fox in her mind like an anchor _I need to find Nick_

 **Crack...**

It wasn't a sound, Judy didn't hear anything, it was more of a feeling. Like something that shouldn't be able to break… broke. Her eyes widened at something that wasn't quite pain. It was like something had grabbed the back of her mind and pulled it taught. Tighter and tighter, in ways that shouldn't be possible or describable, till it snapped.

The whole world seemed to shudder, or maybe that was just Judy shaking, and her vision began to slide. She barely noticed that she had collapsed sideways in the car before everything went black.

* * *

Blurrily, Judy returned to the waking world. Her skull ached and the gear stick had been stabbing into her ribs the entire time, she'd probably have a bruise. She glanced around in confusion trying to work out what was happening. She was in her car, she looked out the window, where was she?

Judy opened the door and stumbled outside. She could make out sand in the distance and buildings not too far away. Her shadow stretched far away from her. Judy turned to look behind her.

The setting sun was blazing orange as it slowly dipped behind the large abandoned building Judy was parked in front of. Judy stood there in silence, eyes wide, as she looked on at Cyprus Grove Apartments and the last of the sun's rays disappeared behind the building.

She didn't feel anything as she slowly approached, it was like something had sapped the life out her. Judy's paw froze before she pushed open the front doors almost fearfully. The inside of the building was exactly the same as it had been the evening before. But, as Judy shook her head carefully, it felt different.

She cautiously climbed the stairs to the third floor. Whatever had happened earlier, the day was nearly gone now, Judy didn't want to reach her destination anymore. But she still kept on numbly walking forwards. She was very familiar with Nick's floor by now but it no longer felt welcoming as she walked towards Nick's door.

Judy took a deep breath to try and steady her nerves, she closed her eyes and stepped inside. There was silence. Opening her eyes Judy looked around sadly, everything was just like she had left it, but there was no sign of Nick.

Judy slowly walked through the rooms, the bathroom was empty, the kitchenette was empty, the living room was obviously empty of that ghostly fox she was searching for. Judy turned to the bedroom door, her eyes glimmering with faint hope as she pushed it open.

The room within was dark, too dark for Judy to see anything without the portable lamp but that didn't matter. The very fact that it wasn't lit with a gentle silver glow was enough to shatter that tiny hope Judy had. Slowly Judy staggered backwards as tears began to stream down her face. Her ears flopped lifelessly down her back and she tried to block out the silence all around her with her paws.

A little part of her remembered a day in the past and she hurriedly turned around to face the front door in the hops that her sight would fill with silver. But there was nothing. And then it hit her.

She had been to this place every day for the best part of a month, she had long since grown accustomed to the atmosphere and feel of the place. And now, as she glanced around the room terrified, she couldn't feel it. That special feeling Nick's apartment had because it was _Nick's_ was gone.

It felt like the bottom had dropped out of her stomach and she slumped against the wall. It was gone, that spark was gone, the clock struck midnight, the magic had finished. Sobs escaped her as Judy tried to come to terms with the fact that she'd failed, she hadn't made it, Nick was gone.

Gradually it was like the light went out in her eyes as she lay there leaning against the wall breathing softly. Nick had become her rock, her support over these weeks of mind numbing parking duty, her refuge in the giant city.

She wanted to walk through the streets as a couple, she wanted to go on dates, she wanted him to meet her parents. She didn't even care how other people would see them, just the fact that people _could_ see them was all she wanted.

And now it was all over before it could begin.

 _Why?_

 _Why did all of this happen?_

 _Why did we meet in the first place?_

 _Why did we fall in love?_

 _Why were you taken from me so quickly?_

 _Why?!_

Judy closed her eyes, she had run out of tears, or rather she was too tired for them.

Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Bee-click

One of Judy's lifeless ears twitched. There were rustles from the bedroom along with a low grumbling. She didn't move but her empty eyes opened to see what was happening.

The partially opened door to the bedroom was opened fully. Scratching his head and yawning, an unfamiliar fox walked out.

"Ought to be about time" he mumbled to himself as he checked his watch.

He looked up and just happened to lock gazes with Judy lying on the ground, dead purple met living green across the apartment.

"Judy!" shouted the fox as he ran across the room to her. He fell to his knees and was about to reach out for her when he flinched, unsure whether to proceed.

"Who are you?" asked Judy quietly, a tiny bit of life sparked inside her.

"Well, unless I got my dates wrong" said the fox gently smiling at her "we should have only said goodbye last night. Unless you think you imagined me again, in which case you have good taste Carrots"

Judy heard his words but it felt like her head was full of cotton wool, she was struggling to understand what he said, but a little light returned to her eyes. Judy looked at the fox in front of her, he was older than her, she didn't recognise him. But the more she looked, the more she saw something. A twitch of his ears, a smirk on his muzzle, those deep green eyes. Those eyes. She had spent yesterday evening just staring into them, branding them into her mind so she wouldn't forget.

"Nick?" Judy breathed, barely holding herself together.

With a nod the fox reached and gently stroked the fur of Judy's cheek. She leant into the touch without noticing, her eyes never once leaving Nick's.

"You're alive…" whispered Judy feeling some strength return to her body "You're alive…"

"Well of course I am Carrots" said Nick frowning with concern "What are you talki-Oof"

Nick collapsed backwards as a small grey missile collided with his chest. Judy held on tight to his shirt and burrowed herself into his chest as much as possible. She was shaking uncontrollably and Nick's shirt was growing damp with tears. Nick's eyes widened as he could hear her mumbling "You're alive" over and over again.

He wrapped his arms around her and gently began to stroke the back of her head. Slowly Judy began to calm down at his touch, something she had only dreamed of. The scent of fox, which would normally make a rabbit very nervous, was now a wonderful comfort proving that this was all real.

"You died"

Nick looked down as Judy said something different, amethyst eyes looked up at him as Judy slowly wrapped her arms round him.

"I went to city hall this morning" said Judy dully "I found your file, you died today in 2003 in a gas leak"

Nick blinked as he thought back to that day 13 years ago, he thought about what Judy had just said, and a light of understanding appeared in his eyes. Gently he took Judy's face in his paws and lifted her up. Nick leant down and softly kissed his bunny on the lips. Judy froze, all her previous thoughts put on hold, before she melted into Nick's arms. Their first kiss was gentle and caring and full of reassurance.

"Judy, I think you saved my life" said Nick slowly as he pulled back "There was a gas leak, and it hit my floor too. My neighbours, the capybaras, were lucky to be out of town but some of the others didn't make it" Nick gave Judy another quick kiss to keep her calm "There's only one reason that I wasn't there that day, and that was because it was the date of the first match on that list you gave me. I had to see for sure if it worked, that I hadn't just gone insane and hallucinated the love of my life as a ghostly rabbit. So I went to watch the game and you were exactly right about the score. When I returned home, everything with the gas leak was already over"

Judy started to shake again. Not because of shock or grief or joy but simply because too much had happened to her emotions today.

 _If I hadn't given Nick those scores_ thought Judy feeling a dull terror settling _If I'd chosen not to say anything, or not to go back that day at all…_

Nick could read almost exactly was running through Judy's mind from the look on her face. He bundled her up in his chest with his tail wrapped round her and traced gentle kisses down her cheeks while murmuring that he was fine.

"Don't think about any what if's" he said comfortingly "just focus on us, here and now, you have no idea how long I've waited just hold you in my arms"

Judy could smell Nick all around her and it calmed her down. She took the initiative this time, she reached up to wrap her arms round his neck and kissed him. Nick's eyes widened slightly before he grinned and returned the kiss slightly harder.

"I'm not complaining" said Judy weakly as they broke apart "but how are you here?"

Nick didn't answer and sat up, Judy clung onto his shirt with a small meep as she found herself lifted in his paws. He returned to the darkened bedroom, turned on the portable lamp and climbed up onto the bed. Laying Judy down they were now facing each other just like they had been the night before. Except this time their paws weren't overlapping, they were intertwined.

"After I got back from the football match, Tundratown vs Rainforest by the way, everything had calmed down. All the gas had been shut off so it was safe for residents to move back in. I was so excited to tell you about everything that I didn't notice that my apartment felt different. You didn't appear. Shortly afterwards the place was shut down due to all the lawsuits and I had to move out. I didn't need to worry about money as long as I didn't draw attention to my gambling so I easily found somewhere new. I kept coming back here"

Nick gestured at the room.

"but you never reappeared, I figured that whatever fantastical thing it was that let us meet must have stopped. That just meant that I needed a different plan. I spent ages pouring over every little thing you had ever told me about your life, trying to find some sort of loophole so we could be together, but you were right when you said I couldn't try and find you. It came to me eventually, it was so simple, you had never met me before and never did right up to the last time I saw you. In that case I knew exactly where you would be… and that is right here and now. Good thing I'm quite a patient fox huh?" said Nick with a smirk.

Judy opened and closed her mouth a few times as she struggled to find the right words. When she finally did, her voice was hoarse and Nick could hear the raw emotions.

"13 years Nick" whispered Judy "I love you, but we only confessed to each other last night for me, of course I still love you. But… but you really waited 13 years just to see me?"

Nick could see Judy's feelings bubbling away on her face, he'd always been able to read her easily but today had been such an emotional rollercoaster for her that it was even easier than normal.

"We never really had time to talk about… courtship or other things did we" said Nick slowly to which Judy shook her head "Foxes are extremely serious about finding love. And once we do, that's it, we never love anyone else in the same way. Foxes mate for life Judy, in every sense of the phrase" Nick smiled smugly as he watched Judy's eyes widen "I have met countless vixens over the last 13 years but not a single one could move me because I'd already fallen for a scrappy, young police bunny"

"Calling me young" frowned Judy.

"Well, I'm the older one now Carrots" grinned Nick.

"Yeah but just yesterday you were 19 for me"

Judy stared at Nick in silence as thought after thought ran through her mind. Nick was content just to lie there and watch the expressions on Judy's face.

He loved her.

Once she had gotten over the shock of losing and then regaining her fox, this was something that she had worried about before Nick had told his tale. She'd guessed what had happened, after all he was so much older now, but what about during his time alone. Surely he would have found a nice vixen, settled down, forgotten about her…

 _But he was here wasn't he?_ she'd thought as Nick began to tell his story.

Judy's heart had soared as she heard his words, it sang in her chest, he had waited for her, just for her. For 13 years she had been the only one in his heart. And that was the last nail in the coffin so to speak. She already loved him, almost losing him had shown her how much, but now… he was the only one who would ever shine so brightly in her heart.

 _mine_

Nick's eyes widened ever so slightly as he watched Judy. First he saw smouldering embers, which then grew into roaring wildfire.

 _Mine_

Her eyes were aflame with desire, a look that sparked a similar reaction deep inside Nick, but it wasn't over. From ember to fire, from fire to light, those purple eyes were the most radiant things Nick had ever seen.

 _ **Mine!**_

That was no longer a conscious thought on Judy's part but an instinctive reaction. Nick held his breath as Judy leant towards him, there was something about the intensity of her gaze that made him unable to move. Slowly Judy raised her head and ran the fur of her chin along the length of Nick's muzzle.

Nick felt joy unlike anything he'd experienced in the last 13 years as he realised what she was doing. He lay there silently as Judy continued to slowly and deliberately spread her scent over him. He had dreamt about this day nearly every night, wondering what it would be like to actually touch her, to smell her, to feel her.

Judy's scent was like the earth, her time in Zootopia too short to remove the smells of the countryside entirely, she smelt like rabbit too but what else would you expect. Nick took a small sniff.

 _And lavender_ he thought happily as Judy finally stopped her ministrations.

"Judy… are you sure?" asked Nick, as happy as he was for her gesture he was worried about her, about how the world would see her "You didn't need t-"

Nick found himself dragged back into another passionate kiss which he almost immediately returned.

"You had 13 years to forget about me Wilde" growled Judy as she pulled back "you're stuck with me now. Now. Mark. Your. Mate!"

Judy's words tripped something deep inside Nick, something he didn't have full control over, instincts that had been lying dormant for 13 years no matter how much work some vixens put in. With a growl that sent shivers down Judy's spine he pounced, greater strength and dull claws pining her to the bed.

Judy's nose twitched as the scent of fox filled her head, fogging her thoughts. Her instincts filled her with fear at the smell but she was filled with too much love for the mammal now rubbing her cheeks with his own. It all merged together in the melting pot that was her heart and gave birth to a powerful sense of excitement, danger, and thrill.

Clothes were quickly shed, though it was hard to tell by who. This wasn't about sex, though that would probably come later once they had calmed down, this was about something much deeper. About marking what was theirs, about comfort, for Nick's 13 years and for Judy's fear of loss. They lay curled up with Nick's tail wrapped around them for warmth. All they wanted right now was the warmth and presence that came from finally being able to sense their partner in every way other than just sight, like they had been restricted to, just a day or years ago.

"Come live with me" said Nick, Judy paused momentarily in nuzzling his shoulder before nodding "I've got 13 years worth of things to catch you up on Carrots"

Judy could feel her heart turning into a gooey mess again as she was reminded about how Nick had waited for her. She knew that she would never find another male like him nor would she ever need one. Living with him just seemed perfectly natural at that moment.

 _As it should since he is my mate_ she thought giddily _and I need to catch up, I mean he_ _ **has**_ _got a 13 year head start in showing his love for me._

All that could wait, certainly the building was abandoned, and despite Judy's tireless cleaning, Nick's old apartment wasn't the most romantic of places. But this place was extremely important to them, where they first met, where they fell in love, and now, as they lay together in quiet harmony, where they slept through their first night as mates.

The rest… well, that could wait till the morning.


End file.
